2 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE WrestleMania SmackDown (April 1)

by Jamie Kennedy

1. Top Talent + Time = Results

Ricochet Humberto Angel Los Lotharios
WWE.com

Ricochet dropping to two quick fire losses sucked last week. It didn't make sense, and made the Intercontinental Champion look like a total afterthought. Cheerfully, Rico makes up for WWE's shoddy booking with sheer talent, and he was fired up to show his worth on Friday night.

Together, he, Humberto and Angel produced a fun little Triple Threat bout that achieved several goals. Firstly, it was a successful title defence for Ricochet (which is never a given). Second, WWE teased that Los Lotharios might split up, then kept them together in the end. Thank f*ck for that, 'cause the tag scene badly needs them.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from all of this is that the IC belt didn't look horrible. That's a relief, especially when recent storytelling has been so wonky. WWE's writers need to learn that great workers will produce results if they're handed time and given some backing.

Is it ideal that a tag-team beat Rico in two matches last week? No. Is it the perfect outcome that he returned the favour to go 50/50 here? Nah. Is it nice to see the IC Title in a featured spot on TV? Absolutely.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more like this, check out 7 Ups & 8 Downs From WWE's Road To WrestleMania 38 and WWE WrestleMania 38: 10 Nightmares That Could Come True!

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Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.